Project Information

Abstract:

In an effort to increase crop diversification, no-till farmers in the Palouse region of North Idaho and Eastern Washington have expressed a need for increased knowledge and awareness of appropriate agronomic practices for both quinoa and hulless barley. Each of these crops possesses the potential to add value to traditional no-till farming rotations in the Palouse through the marketing of their enhanced nutritional value and heart-healthy characteristics. Quinoa is recognized worldwide as an important gluten-free crop with high nutritional content and as a source of phytonutrients and fiber for human health. Quinoa is mostly imported from South America, has a high yield per acre, and is highly adaptable to adverse growing environments. Quinoa production in the Palouse will create a secure domestic supply of the cereal for U.S. consumers. At present, little is known about either the best management practices or the best available varieties for quinoa and hulless barley.

From 2015 to 2017, we evaluated 10 varieties and/or breeding lines each of quinoa and hulless barley on two no-till farms in Washington and Idaho. Results from these trials summarized over years will inform us on which varieties of each crop that will perform best, measured across a diversity of traits, on no-till farms in the Palouse region. Each year were very different in terms of rainfall and temperature extremes, and we are in the process of compiling 3-year results for these trials. In general, barley trials were much more consistent than the quinoa trials. High temperature have a strongly detrimental effect on quinoa yield, particularly in soil moisture limited environments. 2017 was an extremely hot year, and high temperatures during flowering and seed set resulted in negligible quinoa yields.

Agronomic trials for each crop were conducted in 2016 and 2017 on two no-till farms and will be repeated again in 2018 pending a no-cost extension request. These focus on determining optimal nitrogen and seeding rates for each crop on no-till farms in the Palouse. Each no-till farm represents a distinct rainfall zone and/or soil type. Agronomic traits of interest include: speed and rate of emergence, juvenile growth habit, leaf and stem color, plant height at maturity, disease resistance, lodging tolerance, weed suppression and seed yield. End-use quality and nutritional traits of interest include seed protein content, seed size, test weight, β-glucan content (for barley only), and extrusion properties. We have found significant differences among quinoa varieties, barley varieties, nitrogen rate in both crops and seeding rate in quinoa. These will be summarized across years and presented in the final report.

Information was disseminated in 2017 through various annual field days and oral presentations. No-till farmers in the Palouse, as well as Shepherd’s Grain representatives, have been intimately involved in the conception, design, and planning stages of this proposal and will be critical in the successful implementation and extension of this project.

Project Objectives:

Below are the three objectives targeted in Year 3 of the project (2017). We will request a no-cost extension so we can conduct the agronomy trials in barley for one additional year.

1. Identify specific varieties and/or breeding lines of quinoa and hulless barley that perform well on no-till farms in the Palouse.

2. Determine the effect of seeding rate of quinoa and hulless barley on agronomic traits and seed yield of quinoa and hulless barley;

3. Conduct field days in Idaho and Washington to increase knowledge of and awareness about the agronomic and market capacity of quinoa and hulless barley.

Research

Research results and discussion:

We have established differences among food barley varieties and breeding lines in no-till dryland systems in two locations as is represented by the first two tables below. We sourced these entries from both the WSU and U of I breeding programs. Entries 1 – 5 are from U of I and entries 6 – 10 are from WSU. Kardia is a hulled variety, whereas the rest are hulless. X05013-T1 was released by WSU in 2017 and is now called Meg’s Song. These entries are currently being evaluated for beta glucan content in our lab and full results from the multi-year, multi-location trials will be available at the end of the project.

Genesee, Idaho Variety Trial

Entry#

Variety

Yield (lb/A)

Test Weight (lb/bu)

Plumps (>6/64) (%)

Plumps (>5.5/64) (%)

Thins (%)

4

Kardia

5255

51.0

93

6

2

8

10WA-107.8

5152

53.0

90

8

2

9

10WA-118.13

4805

51.9

80

16

4

10

10WA-130.5

4102

55.2

77

20

4

6

X05013-T1 (Meg’s Song)

4073

56.3

87

10

3

7

X07G31-T120

3805

54.6

69

26

5

3

2Ab09-X06F058HL-31

3672

53.3

90

8

2

5

Ab09BG10HL-85

3447

52.0

78

17

5

2

Julie

3292

56.6

87

12

2

1

Transit

3123

55.1

75

22

3

LSD (0.05)

463

2.0

5

4

1

CV (%)

7.8

2.6

4.1

19.3

23.4

Almota, Washington Variety Trial

Entry#

Variety

Yield (lb/A)

Test Weight (lb/bu)

Plumps (>6/64) (%)

Plumps (>5.5/64) (%)

Thins (%)

8

10WA-107.8

4008

55.6

90

8

1

9

10WA-118.13

3736

57.1

74

22

4

4

Kardia

3673

51.6

91

7

2

6

X05013-T1 (Meg’s Song)

3265

60.1

88

10

3

10

10WA-130.5

3030

59.1

76

21

3

3

2Ab09-X06F058HL-31

2943

57.7

89

8

3

7

X07G31-T120

2480

56.9

64

29

7

2

Julie

2376

58.2

90

8

2

1

Transit

2222

57.1

72

24

4

5

Ab09BG10HL-85

2150

55.1

68

25

6

LSD (0.05)

438

1.6

5

4

1

CV (%)

10.1

1.9

4.3

18.2

20.7

Research conclusions:

Impacts

Impacts and outcomes will be fully realized and reported after the 2018 field season, pending a no-cost extension to conduct trials for one more field season in 2018. Our preliminary observations indicate enthusiastic and growing interest in the potential for growing both food barley and quinoa in dryland systems in the Palouse. High temperatures on these dryland farms pose a significant impact on the yields of quinoa.

Accomplishments

Below are the three objectives targeted in Year 3 of the project (2017), with accomplishments summarized below each.

1. Identify specific varieties and/or breeding lines of quinoa and hulless barley that perform well on no-till farms in the Palouse.

From 2015 to 2017, we evaluated 10 varieties and/or breeding lines each of quinoa and hulless barley on two no-till farms in Washington and Idaho. Results from these trials summarized over years will inform us on which varieties of each crop that will perform best, measured across a diversity of traits, on no-till farms in the Palouse region. Each year were very different in terms of rainfall and temperature extremes, and we are in the process of compiling 3-year results for these trials. In general, barley trials were much more consistent than the quinoa trials. High temperature have a strongly detrimental effect on quinoa yield, particularly in soil moisture limited environments. 2017 was an extremely hot year, and high temperatures during flowering and seed set resulted in negligible quinoa yields.

2. Determine the effect of seeding rate of quinoa and hulless barley on agronomic traits and seed yield of quinoa and hulless barley.

Two food barley and one quinoa variety were grown in separate but similar agronomy trials on two no-till farms in 2017. The focus of these trials was to identify optimum seeding rates and nitrogen fertility rates. To this end, five nitrogen fertility rates and three seeding rates were tested across varieties and locations. Differences were significant especially for nitrogen fertility rate. Interactions were also found across seeding rate and fertility rate. Each no-till farm represents a distinct rainfall zone and/or soil type. Agronomic traits of interest include: speed and rate of emergence, juvenile growth habit, leaf and stem color, plant height at maturity, disease resistance, lodging tolerance, weed suppression and seed yield. End-use quality and nutritional traits of interest include seed protein content, seed size, test weight, β-glucan content (for barley only), and extrusion properties. We have found significant differences among quinoa varieties, barley varieties, nitrogen rate in both crops and seeding rate in quinoa. These will be summarized across years and presented in the final report.

3. Conduct field days in Idaho and Washington to increase knowledge of and awareness about the agronomic and market capacity of quinoa and hulless barley.

One on-farm field day in conjunction with Shepard’s Grain Farmer Cooperative was held in 2017 where this trial and preliminary results were discussed. Results were also discussed with farmers at two additional field days in conjunction with WSU Variety Testing during the summer of 2017. Preliminary results were also shared during an oral presentation at the Cascadia Grains conference in Olympia, Washington in January 2017. Stakeholders in attendance included no-till and conventional till farmers, consumers, chefs, and other scientists. In addition, results were presented at a WSU BIOAg symposium in a poster format in March 2017 and in an oral presentation at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA annual meeting in October 2017.

Education

Educational approach:

We focus on education through field days, farmer talks, and poster and oral presentations at meetings and conferences. As we begin to synthesize our data at the end of the project, we will employ other forms of education in addition to the above, including extension bulletins and/or fact sheets and peer-reviewed academic publications.

Educational & Outreach Activities

Participation Summary

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.

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